Though a few weeks have already passed since news first spread of Target's controversial $150,000 donation to MN Forward, a pro-business group that also happens to support anti-gay Minn. gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, the calls for a boycott from LGBT and other groups are still going strong. Tomorrow, as part of a national day of protest against the retail giant, activists in Chicago have planned a demonstration at the newly opened Wilson Yard location in Uptown at 11 a.m. more ›

The PR hits just keep coming for Target. The Minn.-based, growing retail empire is already under fire for donating $150,000 to a PAC backing Tom Emmer, an anti-gay Republican gubernatorial candidate in the land of 10,000 lakes who reportedly has ties to a Christian rock group advocating the murder of LGBT people. And, as reported by The Awl yesterday, the company's CEO Gregg Steinhafel and his wife are also on the record for donating $10,000, the maximum allowable contribution, to Rep. Michele Bachmann. more ›

Oak Brook-headquartered McDonald's is coming under heat from LGBT activists following a contentious statement made by the company's number-two in a Trib interview. The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the country's largest LGBT business association, has announced it's cut all ties with the fast-food giant. more ›

While they didn't approve food trucks, the City Council did approve a moratorium on business with Arizona-based companies as a way to protest that state's recently-enacted immigration law that's been causing controversy. Ald. Danny Solis (25th) compared it to Nazi Germany, saying and Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th) voted in favor of the resolution but urged caution, citing the council's own previous missteps: “Clearly, we’ve all done some stupid things. Even us. Fois gras. How long ago was that?” The move doesn't affect four contracts already made with Arizona companies. more ›

• The Arizona boycott is now apparently making its way around City Hall.
• In the wake of this weekend's violence, 130 additional police officers will soon be on the streets of Chicago.
• Rod and Patti Blagojevich will take the stand in their own defense.

Cook County commissioners passed a resolution this week boycotting Arizona businesses in response to the state's punitive law requiring immigrants to carry their alien registration papers, and requiring police to question people they suspect of being in the United States illegally. The county then voted to award one of two contracts for red light ticketing cameras to American Traffic Solutions, based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The other contract went to Redspeed Illinois, based in Lombard, Illinois. (That's DuPage County, in case you were wondering.) The red light cameras will be posted at some 30 intersections around Cook County. One town targeted seems to be Schaumburg where another fight over the cameras could be brewing. The Expired Meter has more on that as well as a list of the proposed intersections. more ›

We hope you enjoyed a great holiday weekend (mostly) full of sunshine, barbecues, enjoying some time off of work, and, of course, remembering those who gave their lives in service for this country. While you were doing all of that, you may or may not have missed a weekend full of news so here's what we covered since Friday. more ›

Illinois senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) toured Louisiana yesterday with Louisiana senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, along with some officials from the Obama administration to address the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Durbin remarked on BP’s handling of the spill, deemed by the White House as the worst in U.S. history, saying “In my mind, BP no longer stands for British Petroleum. It stands for Beyond Patience.” He went on to say that the Obama administration would pressure BP to clean up the spill and bear the cost. more ›

The national fervor surrounding Arizona’s controversial immigration legislation shows no signs of tapering off. While Sarah Palin is urging states to follow Arizona down the road to a “papers, please” society, even some officials who have closer ties to the issue question the state’s recent immigration law. The Tribune reports in a visit to Chicago yesterday, John Morton, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Arizona’s new law is not “good government.” In a meeting with the Trib’s editorial board, Morton also said that his agency may not process illegal immigrants arrested in Arizona under the new law. While he did say that his agency would step up enforcement of immigration laws, he said “the best way to reduce illegal immigration is through a comprehensive federal approach, not a patchwork of state laws.” more ›

The debate over Arizona's controversial new immigration law will see a new battlefield this afternoon: Wrigley Field. more ›

312 Dining Diva is reporting that the parents of Grocery Bistro (804 W. Washington) Chef Andre Christopher have staged a boycott of the West Loop restaurant in their van outside the restaurant this morning. more ›

State Senator James Meeks, who recently led a controversial two-day boycott of Chicago Public Schools, is set to protest at a Cubs playoff game next week by surrounding Wrigley Field with 6,000 people to protest what he claims is a funding disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. But the city's most powerful White Sox fan is asking Meeks to knock it off. Said Mayor Daley:

We waited 100 years for the Cubs to get in. You shouldn’t disturb them. I really believe that. They've been very helpful [by contributing to] a lot of programs. This is their day...It doesn’t do any good in the long run. People are getting tired of it. Everybody knows the inequity. We’ve been talking about it for a long time. This is nothing new. I don’t know why you’re finally writing about it now. It’s just a waste of time for the children. If he wants to do that, so be it. [But], those kids should be in school and tutoring programs.

When we went to Winnetka, that pushed a button that hadn’t been pushed before. By us going to Wrigley Field, it’ll push another button that hasn’t been pushed before. The definition of insanity is to do the same thing the same way and expect a different result. What the mayor has been doing is the same thing the same way. We're doing things a different way.